Expansion joint for heat exchangers



May 39 E.y M..o'DoNNELL E11' AL EXPANSION JOINT FOR HEATl EXGHANGERSFiled April l. 1926 heating or cooling luid Patented May 3, 1927,11 jUNITED-sfTA'rasj PATENTOF "1,626,869 rica.

EDWARD n; onoNNELL, or sur rnANcIsco, AND DAvIp D. rEnBLnsQor EUREKA,

' cALIr'on'Nu.

application med April 1, '1926. semi Nu. ,$8,976.

Thsinvention .relates 'to -a paratus ,for sv in w ich the heat isltransferred from one fluid to another and especially, to anexpansion'joint `whereby the lapparatus may freely expand or corbtractwhen subjected to different temperatures without imposin' any stressronthe heads, tube'sheets, or other parts of the apparatus.

Theheat exchanger forming the subject matter of the presentapplication.- comprises an elongated cylindrical shaped shell, aplurality of tubes interior thereof and extending from end to end, tubesheets at each end 'of the shell whereby the tubes are supported,

' means Afor introducing steam to heat 'the tubes', and a pair of endheads which directs the fluid to be heated through the tubes.

The object of the 'resent invention is to generally improve an simplifythe construction and-operation ofi heat exchangers of this character, toprovide means whereby \one head and an adjacent tube sheet may bemounted for endwise or floating movement with relation to the shell, toprovide means whereby both tube sheets and the tubes 4lmounted thereinmay be moved in unison endwise vof the shell, to provide an expan-v sionjoint to form a seal between the floating tube sheet and the shell andfurther, tor provi-de an' lexpansion jointf-which may beremoved forreplacementgannealing, packing, etc.. without disturbing the' floatingtube y or any other part ofthe apparatus. l

One form which the invention may 'assume is exemplified' yin the`accompanying drawings in which the figure is a side elevation oftheheat exchanger, .said lside elevation being partly broken away and beingalso shown partially in, section.' Therefore,re ferring to the drawingin detailA indicates an elongated -lcylindrical shaped shell con#structed of steel or any other suitable metal.

- by each tube `sheet or by the shell proper, are members 5 and 6 andinterposed be- Disposed at veach end of the shell are tube I sheets suchas indicated at l2 and 3 andl mounted in' the`tube' sheets. andsupported thereby is a plurality of tubes 4.' Supported head tween' thetubel sheet 2 and the shell proper isfanexpansion joint generallyindicated at 7. `The tubes 4 are secured in the respective .tube (sheetsv2 and 3 in'the usual manner.

The tube sheet 3 is secured to one end of the shellby means of lanannular flange 8 and 'of the tube sheet 2 by means of bolts 23 anch`bolts 9 and a gasket 10 maya/be inter osed between the tube sheet andthe ange 8' 'to prevent leakage.y The head member 6 is secured to th'eexterior face of the tube sheet in any suitable manner or as-hereillustrated-by means of the bolts 9 and the i 'when certain, liquids orfluids are handled.

The'tube sheet A3 will hereinafter bereferred to a's :the stationarytube sheet and the tube sheet 2 as the floating tubev sheet..`

' The last named tube sheet is mounted and sealed with relation to theshell A in the following manner. Secured to the end of the shell as at13 is a'n annular flange 14.l

-This flange is provided with asecond annular flange 15. rIhe tube sheet2 is also provided with an annular flange asindicatecLat 16 and this`flange -telescopes' within the flange 15 and is' guided and' supportedthereby. The tubes 4- are 'in most instances constructed of copperand'jas the exterior shell A isr usually constructed of steel,it is obvious that a considerablediil'erence in coelliciency of expansionisencount'ered. It is for this reason that the'ldating tube sheet 2'- isemplpyed. -In view of the floating tubel sheet, itj'obviously becomesnecessary to seal the telescoping joint formed by the flanges i' 15 and16, and it is. for thisreason that'the expansion joint 7 is; employed.The joint is preferably made of copper or alike fairly flexible metal..The-joint lering-sha ed or annular and is.-prov1ded-l with two anges',one indicated at 17.'and' theafother at 18. A crosssection vof theexpansion rin or joint shows that it .fis .substantially -shapedf ThisVis' of considerableimportance, as it lprovides two bends orr curls suchas indicated at 19 and 20,*whichA may'give or 'flex durin telescopingaction ofthe tube sheet 2.'

ioni

The4 ange. 17 of .the expansion joint is secured to the outer peripheraledge of?- tf1/ange 14 bymeans of bolts or vthe like showngt'21. Tliesecond* flange V18 of the expansion jo1nt issecred'by means of Abolts22`to the 'outer peripheral edge of the'vtube sheet. The head v' as suchvmoves or floats with the tube sheet member-'5 Vis secured to tli'eexterior surface ,t

during expanding or contracting action. In,

,collected in the bottom of the shell and may be removed or drainedthrough the discharge connection indicated at 26. i

In actual operation the fluid or liquid to v be heated enters the headmember through the connection indicated at 27, then passes through theupper layer of tubes and flows through the same and thereby enters thehead member 5. From there the liquid passes'througli-the lowerlayei oftubes and .discharges into the space 28 of the head member 6, fromWhereiit finally discharges through the connection 29. The partition imember 11 serves the function of directing the incoming liquid into theupper series of tubes and similarly prevents the discharging warm liquidfrom mixing with the ,incoming cool liquid, or in other words, di-

rects the discharging hot liquid through the connection 29. The heat-ingmedium such as steam or the like admitted, causes expansion orelongation of the heating tubes 4. Such elongation cannot set up anystress in the i tube sheets or in the tube joints as tube sheet 2 isfreely movable in an endwise direction. Leakage cannot take place aroundthe lioating tube sheet, as it is completely sealed orpacked by means ofthe expansion joint 20.

'sion joint as shown, ,readily .and quickly Vdiameter of the Theadvaiitages of an arrangement and structure such as here shown are asfollows. First, by providing the telescoping flanges 15 and 16 inconnect-ion with the fioating tube sheet, the expansion relieved of theweight ofthe tube sheet, t-lie tubes, and the' head member 5, and thetubes` proper are also relieved of any bending stress. Secondly, byconstructing the expanit becomes possible to remove the same forrenewal, annealing, packing, etc. by merely releasing the bolts 21 and22 and without disturbing the float tube sheet, the head 5, or any otherpart of the apparatus, this being due to the fact that the insidediameter of the expansionjoint at the point 19 is Slightly larger thanthe exterior peripheral tube sheet 2, thereby niitting the expansionjoint to be slipped over the tube sheet and the head 5, while beingremoved or replaced. Third, the

packing gasket 10 cooperating with thelsta,

.the old `joint 7 is entirely pep.

lessees The removal of these'bolts releases the floating tube sheet withrelation to the expansion joint, and the stationary tube sheet withrelation tothe shell, thus permitting the tubes and the tube sheets tobe moved end- Wise in -the direction of arrow with relation to theshell, a sufficient distance to remove gasket and'to replace it with anew. Fourth, the removable plate 12 and similar plates indicated at 12Lon the head 5 are also important as it permits ready access to theinterior of the heads for cleaning the same and also for cleaning theinterior of the tubes. This bein 'ot particular iinportance in handlingliquids such as milk or the like. Fifth, an expansion ring or jointofS-shaped cross section is also an important feature, as it substantiallydoubles the flexibility of the joint and the life of the same. I

l'While certain of the details of the present invention have been moreor less specifically illustrated, we wish it understood that changes inforni and proportion may be resorted to within the scopeof the appendedclaims and we wish it understood that the materials and finish of theseveral parts employed maybe made to suit varying conditions or to suit.the dictates of the manufacturei'.

Having thus described our invention,

2. In an apparatus of the character described, an elongated cylindricalshaped shell, a lplurality of tubes interior thereof .and extending fromend to end bf the shell,

a stationary tube 'sheet at one end of the -shell supporting one end ofthe tubes, a

floating tube sheet at the other end of the shell supporting t-heopposite ends of the tubes, and an annular'ex a-nsion member forming aseal between t sheet'and the shell, and means forming a guide landsupport for the floating tube sheet to relieve the expansion member `ofthe weight of the floating tube sheet andthe tubes, and ahead membersupported by the floating tube sheet.

l EDWARD M. ODONNELL.

DAVID D. PEEBLES.

e Ufloating tube

